This Crazy Week in Sports by helene

It seemed like football season would never get here, but it has, with the first game being played Thursday night, and I’ll start there. Who was the first player to score in the 2020 NFL season?

Several sports leagues have employed a bubble to help protect their players from COVID-19, which have been remarkably effective so far. The NBA bubble at Walt Disney World has been getting quite a bit of attention, but the WNBA is also playing in a bubble in Florida, although using less famous accommodations. Name either the city or the boarding school/academy in which the WNBA season is being held.

Sticking with basketball, although the college season has not yet begun, a proposal to open the 2021 NCAA Tournament up to all 346 Division I teams has been forwarded by the ACC coaches. Which coach is the face of this proposal? (I’ll be nice and accept his nickname or his last name).

COVID-19 has caused some sports’ federations to start experimenting with virtual, rather than in-person, competitions. In honor of the country’s Independence Day (September 1,, 1991), one national weightlifting federation hosted (and live streamed) the Online International Weightlifting Cup for 150 athletes from 30 countries. The home nation’s Adkhamjon Ergashev won the 67 kg category. Which country, which to date has 2 Olympic weightlifting medals, hosted this event?

On Wednesday, the Detroit Tigers were shut out by the Milwaukee Brewers 19-0. Perhaps surprisingly, that was not the largest margin of victory for the day. Name either of the teams in the NL record setting 29-9 game played that same evening.

On Tuesday, in a ruling already being called “unfair and targeted,” the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland rejected the appeal of a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport about an updated World Athletics regulation. The rules regulated natural testosterone levels, and applied only to athletes who compete in events between 400 and 1500 meters. Which South African middle distance runner filed that appeal?

Tennis had its own controversy this week, as the prohibitive favorite to win the US Open was defaulted for accidently hitting a line judge in the neck with a tennis ball. Who is this 3-time US Open winner?

It’s a nice change when a Tour de France controversy has to do with aggressive racing, rather than doping violations. Stage 11 had a controversial sprint finish, as one rider shouldered another in what has been described alternately as “dangerous,” “badass,” and “good racing,” resulting in the relegation of the second place finisher to 85th, with a corresponding loss of sprint points. Who was this racer, who has won the green jersey at the Tour de France 7 of the last 8 years (with the only miss being due to a controversial disqualification for aggressive racing)?

After weathering a controversy earlier in the season and becoming a leading voice in the social justice movement, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace announced he will be leaving his team at the end of the season, and no longer drive the iconic #43 car he has been in since 2017. What legend of the sport owns that team?

The Fall 2020 coaching carousel has begun, even though college football has just started. Already one head coach, Jay Hopson, has stepped down in a “mutual agreement” with the school’s athletic director after a disappointing loss to South Alabama. Which C-USA team did Hopson coach?

In hockey, after (yet another) early elimination from the playoffs, an NHL team also fired their head coach this week. He was originally promoted to coach after their previous coach left in 2018, to a team currently still in the playoffs. Name the team.

Any sports quiz should have at least one “Who won the match?” question, so I’ll end with that. Vera Zvonereva won her 5th Grand Slam title this week - the 2020 US Open women’s doubles championship. Who was her first time partner, who is from Germany?